


numb without you

by currahees



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: M/M, i just love writing luztoye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 22:27:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19385839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/currahees/pseuds/currahees
Summary: the one in which joe worries about his and luz's future.





	numb without you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [carentans](https://archiveofourown.org/users/carentans/gifts).



> i needed more toye & gene friendship so i wrote it for myself ajhfjehe.  
> find me on tumblr, my username is speirtons.

They were so late, Ron was going to kill them. The party started an hour ago and Joe wasn’t even fully dressed yet.

“Luz, if you don’t stop trying to take my pants off we’re never going to make it,” Joe rasps, his calloused hands stopping George’s much softer ones. George sighs and stops pulling at the zipper on his jeans.

“Fine. But after the party,” he wiggles his eyebrows and Joe laughs, agreeing. “It’s not my fault you look so good,” George adds.

To this, Joe rolls his eyes and pushes his boyfriend onto the bed, both of them landing with a soft ‘thump’ onto the mattress. “Believe me, you look good too,” he whispers, not giving George a second to reply before his mouth is on his again.

//

They make it to the party, albeit almost two hours late. George spent a whole five minutes trying to hide the bruise forming on his neck, but it was no use. Joe Toye was a master at leaving his mark behind.

Ron greets them at the door. And scolds them while he’s at it.

“Where the hell have you guys been?” He demands. His eyes travel from Luz’s neck to Joe’s hair, not needing an answer. “Never mind, just get your asses inside. And find Carwood, he’s in the kitchen somewhere.”

Luz salutes in mock response, laughing as Joe pulls him into the kitchen. They find Carwood talking to Winters, Nix not far behind.

“Hey! Lip, buddy!” Luz’s voice booms around the room in usual Luz fashion. Joe was used to his over eagerness now, not even wincing at his voice that was ten times louder than everyone else’s.

Carwood excuses himself from his conversation with Dick to face Luz and Toye. “Hey guys, glad you could make it,” he smiles. He’d never call them out for being late, that’s what Ron was for.

“Congrats again, I’m so happy for you two!” George exclaims, Ron appearing beside his fiance.

“Yeah, we knew you two would end up engaged sooner or later,” Joe adds.

“Thank you, you two are next,” Carwood jokes, handing them both a drink before carrying on talking to the rest of the guests. He doesn’t realise how quickly those words send Joe into a spiral.

_Married? Him and George? As in, married for life, no take backs, no returns, with each other until the end. Is that what George wanted? Is that what he wanted?_ All of a sudden the room got very warm and Joe excuses himself to the bathroom, accidentally bumping into Roe on the way there.

Joe doesn’t know how long he spends sat on the bathroom floor, but there’s a soft knock at the door drawing him from his thoughts. “Occupied,” he mumbles, but the knocking persists. Expecting it to be George, he opens the door and pauses in shock when he finds Gene stood there.

“Hey. Can I come in?” He asks.

“I mean there’s another bathroom upstairs...,” Joe trails off, but Gene’s already walked into the bathroom and sat down where Joe was sat. Confused, he closes the door behind them and sits opposite Gene, his back against the door. “What are you doing here, Doc?”

“I saw your face when you came in here, I know what a panic attack looks like,” he shrugs. “Thought you could use a friend.”

The sentiment means a lot to Joe and he’s taken aback by his friends kindness for a minute. “Thank you,” he mumbles.

“Go on, talk it out. That usually helps me when I’m feeling this way,” Gene gestures for Joe to start rambling. He hesitates for a minute, before realising it’s Gene. He’s probably heard a lot weirder from his patients (and Babe).

“Carwood made a joke saying me and George are the next ones to get engaged and I guess it threw me into the deep end. Of course I’ve thought about it and I honestly don’t see myself spending my life with anyone else, but fuck. That’s a big step. It took me three months to gather the balls to ask him to move in with me, but marriage?” He shakes his head.

“Do you love George?” Gene asks softly.

Joe doesn’t miss a beat, “like no one else.”

“That’s your answer,” Gene says. “Do you remember how much of a wreck Nix was before he asked Winters?”

Joe nods his head, he remembers. The guy was shaking for weeks, he could barely string a sentence together the day before. No one knew why he was so worried, he had been with Dick for as long as anyone can remember. Of course he said yes. (It was even worse the morning of their wedding, Nix was a  _wreck_ ).

“It’s normal to be nervous. But you just gotta ask yourself, can you see yourself with anyone else? I think you know the answer.” Gene sighs, before smiling a little. “I’m asking Babe to move in with me tomorrow. I’m nervous as hell, but I know he’ll say yes.”

“He’s gonna say yes, the man’s been in love with you since he first laid eyes on you,” Joe grins.

“Same here,” Gene sighs happily. “But you and Luz are made for each other. There’s no rush, talk to him about this. But you’ll be fine.”

He stands up to leave, Joe stopping him. “Thanks, Doc.” Gene smiles, before rejoining the rest of the party.

There’s another knock at the door two minutes later and Joe can’t help asking himself why so many people need to pee.

“Joe? It’s me?” George’s voice comes through the door. Joe stands up and opens it, George walking in. Joe returns to sitting on the floor, not ready to go back to the party yet.

“Hey, Luz,” he murmurs.

“Gene told me you were looking for me. Strange place to be lookin’ for me,” he grins, Joe offering him a weak smile in return. “What’s up?” He asks, his voice more sincere.

Joe has no walls when it comes to George, he broke those down a long time ago. “What Lip said, it just freaked me out a little,” he sighs. “And it’s not you, God it’s not you Georgie. It’s just...,”

“Everything else?” George suggests. Joe nods, feeling like a disappointment. “Hey,” George reaches out, gently pulling one of Joe’s hands between his. “I get you. I know the thought scares you, hell it’s a little scary for me too. But I know you love me and I know that we’ll get there eventually. When we’re both ready. I’m not in a rush, I’m happy wherever you are,” he smiles at Joe, absentmindedly running a thumb across the back of Joe’s hand.

“I feel like I’m letting you down,” Joe admits.

“You could never let me down,” George replies. “I mean when you put empty milk cartoons back in the fridge I get annoyed,” he adds, earning a small chuckle from Joe. “But honestly. Nothing you do disappoints me. I promise.”

Joe lets out a sigh, smiling at George. “God, I love you.”

“I love you too.” George responds, leaning forward to rest his forehead against Joe’s. “But can we get off this bathroom floor?” He asks, Joe laughing. They rejoin the rest of their friends, Joe’s worries from earlier completely gone.

_(Joe proposes six months later at George's birthday party and he says yes before he can even finish his speech. In that moment Joe knows that all he needs is George Luz, nothing else.)_

**Author's Note:**

> Not a representation of the real men, this work is based off the portrayals in the HBO mini series. No disrespect intended towards the real war veterans. Not edited.


End file.
